Reading Into a Leaning “For Sale” Sign If you’re not in the real estate business, it’s just a leaning “For Sale” sign — in this case, a few blocks west of Cedar Lake, in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood (also known as the “first alphabet”). Ahhh, but if you’re an agent, such a sign...Read More
New Listing — Or Is It?? Would-be home Sellers who pulled their listing over the holidays typically wait for two things: 1) for the post-holiday period to pass, usually a few weeks into the New Year; and 2) mild weather (defined as mid-teen’s or higher in Minnesota in January). The last few days qualify, which...Read More
Difference Without a Distinction? The most recent MLS tweak is a change to how market time is reported. Previously, the acronym was “CDOM,” for Cumulative Days on Market; it reflected how long a given property was on the market since listing. Shouldn’t That Be “DOMP??” MLS still shows “CDOM,” but now it also displays something...Read More
Question #2: How Many Months Between October and March?* The answer to “how long should the listing be?” is easy: long enough to sell the house (duh!). But that just begs the underlying question: how long will that take? Practically, the listing contract needs to be long enough to properly prep the home for market...Read More
Now, THAT’s a Deal! “An overpriced “For Sale” home depreciates in value faster than an appreciating housing market rises.” —Ross Kaplan, first law of real estate; “Market Appreciation vs. Home Depreciation” (10/23/2013) Here’s a news flash for at least some prospective home Sellers: even in a Seller’s market like today’s, not everything sells right away,...Read More
“Ten Showings, $10,000” — Updated Realtors have a saying: “ten showings, $10,000.” What that means is, if a home has been shown by 10 agents — each representing a serious, well-qualified Buyer — and it still hasn’t sold . . . it’s overpriced by at least $10,000. Of course, $10k presumes an average, $250k home....Read More
